Shandong cuisine

Shandong cuisine (simplified Chinese: 山东菜; traditional Chinese: 山東菜; pinyin: Shāndōng cài), more commonly known in Chinese as Lu cuisine (simplified Chinese: 鲁菜; traditional Chinese: 魯菜; pinyin: lǔ cài), is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions (八大菜系) of Chinese cuisine and is also ranked among the Four Great Traditions (四大菜系). It is derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, a northern coastal province of China.

Styles

Shandong cuisine consists of 2 styles:

Influence

Although less available in overseas Chinese restaurants, which are usually operated by migrants from southern China , Shandong cuisine is considered one of the most influential and even the foundational school in Chinese cuisine, with the majority of the culinary styles in China having developed from it. Modern cuisines in Northern China - Beijing, Tianjin and the northeastern regions - are all branches of Shandong cuisine. In addition, typical dishes in most Northern Chinese households' meals are prepared using simplified Shandong methods.

Shandong

Shandong (Chinese: 山东), is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the East China region.

Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was later established as the center of Confucianism.

Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north–south and east–west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has emerged as one of the most populous (95,793,065 inhabitants at the 2010 Census) and most affluent provinces in the People's Republic of China with a GDP of CN¥5.942 trillion in 2014, or USD$967 billion, making it China's third wealthiest province.